Just a thought.....is there anything preventing us from knitting a 'bottom-up' hat pattern in reverse order, that is to say, top-down?

Cast on the final number of stitches you would have decreased down to....and start knitting down....substituting decreases with increases?

Easy to figure the math, the number of stitches you'd need as you increase your way to the bottom, I'd think.

Absolutely no reason you can't do it that way. If the pattern depends on you doing a specific type of decrease (say ssk rather than k2tog) to make it look right, then it gets a little more complex but only as much as you have to use the "matching" type of increase to make it look the same. Most of the patterns that are within my skill set aren't that picky.

I just kicked off a hat for myself(!) yesterday where I'm sorta doing this. It's 3x3 ribbing all the way up. Or down, I guess. Requires perhaps a bit more... visualization? starting at the top, but so far it hasn't confused me too badly. I'll let you know how it goes.

Yep, you could cast on the ending stitches, though it sometimes works better to use 8 rather than say 12. If it ends with 12 though, you could CO 6, then inc to 12 on the first round. Patterns worked in the round seem to lie flat better with 8 incs every other round though.

If the pattern depends on you doing a specific type of decrease (say ssk rather than k2tog) to make it look right, then it gets a little more complex but only as much as you have to use the "matching" type of increase to make it look the same.

You could actually use KLL or KRL to make an inc that looks close enough to k2tog/ssk.

You could actually use KLL or KRL to make an inc that looks close enough to k2tog/ssk.

Yeah, that's the kind of thing I was talking about. It's not complicated to do, you just have to know what mirrors what if the pattern's dependent on the inclination of the decrease. Frankly, unless there's a twist or cable or something involved, it probably doesn't matter most of the time since there wouldn't be a corresponding decrease to match up to in a hat. Usually.

Grumpy Gramma said "I've seen that hat and have thought about making it. Will you post a photo?"
I didn't have time to take a photo of it, we had to mail it today. Just Google Woot! Woot Hat and it should take to to website. There is a child and adult size

__________________
Daylilies are the Lord's smiles, a new one every day.

Grumpy Gramma said "I've seen that hat and have thought about making it. Will you post a photo?"
I didn't have time to take a photo of it, we had to mail it today. Just Google Woot! Woot Hat and it should take to to website. There is a child and adult size

That's OK, I just wanted to see yours but when it has to go in the mail, it has to go in the mail.

__________________~ GG
I should never overestimate my basic arithmetic skills.

Quote:

Cheating is an option. . . . Cheaters never win and winners never cheat, but smart knitters who want to retain an iota of sanity do, cheerfully. ~~Kory Stamper